In December 2018, two of my Libyan journalist friends informed me about a photography competition regarding Libya that was organized by a “German company” (Candid Foundation and Zenith Magazine). Although I was apprehensive about the requirements, which included photos from Libya, the competition’s title caught my attention and motivated me to consider participating. I was convinced that a month in Libya with my camera could provide enough material for an entry.

Living abroad does not diminish the connection between Libya and me. In fact, the distance has strengthened my bond with the country. From a distance, the view widens, nostalgia intensifies with each mile, and encounters with curious non-Libyans about my country have prepared me to provide answers. Hence, the competition’s title (Libya Uncharted) perfectly expresses my sentiments toward my country through the captured moments that I have preserved on my laptop from there.

In the first round of the competition, which had the theme of “Identity,” photographers could submit up to 12 photos. I was able to submit the maximum number of photos, as I found many potential options in my folder of photos from Libya that I believed could represent the identity of Libya, or at least what Libya means to me. The photos I submitted covered various aspects, including important historical, cultural, artistic, and social details of Libya. I aimed to capture elements from stones, buildings, human portraits of different ages, and animals. I titled my collection of photos “Connections” or “وصلة” to represent them as a single gallery. I also provided a main description that elaborated on the idea behind the title. The last lines of my description were: “.. In the details lies the identity, under the dust of the past lies the solution, and in linking all this, we reach.”

I was overjoyed when I received an email on February 15th, 2019, announcing that “Connections” had won first place in the first round of a photography competition on the theme of identity, despite not receiving the highest number of public votes. As part of the prize, I was invited to visit Berlin for the ending ceremony of the competition and the opening of the photo exhibition. This opportunity allowed me to fulfill a dream that was previously dashed in 2013, when my plans to study at the Goethe Institut in Düsseldorf fell through. Now, as a winner of the photography competition, I am able to revive this dream.

I haven’t participated in any of the following rounds, but I checked all the entries of each and encouraged my photography enthusiast friends to give it a try. The experience of finding the fitting photos for the theme itself is fun and worth the participation. Besides it is self-rewarding once thoughts and info searching were done.

The knowledge that both the participant and the viewer can gain about Libya is priceless. And that was the reason why I followed the charting journey till the last round on October 2019.

68 Hours in Berlin

A Turkish Airlines flight filled with tired eyes and eager hearts landed at TXL airport on December 10, 2019, at 13:35. It brought a Libyan photographer to European soil for the first time, with the added excitement of being in the inspiring city of Berlin, known as the phoenix that rose from the ashes.

I was greeted at the airport by a friendly smile from Ms. Magdolin, an employee of the Candid Foundation, who then took me to a cozy hotel at Turmstraße 25. The 3° Celsius temperature was the second welcome, or more accurately, a slap in the face for the poor Libyan, who had spent the last four years in a tropical country without winter.

Night fell early and illuminated the Brandenburg Gate with Christmas lights. The second day, and the start of the program, began with a visit to the Memorial of The Murdered Jews of Europe and the museum underneath. Then we went to the Reichstag Building, where the country’s decisions are discussed, voted on, and made. Our inside tour was led by Ms. Clara, who works in the parliament. Her engaging presentation made political discussions more enjoyable. We had lunch at an authentic Italian restaurant and then hurried to the office of Reporters Without Borders for our scheduled meeting with Mr. Christoph Dreyer. He introduced the NGO and described its principles and goals before answering a deluge of questions about the concept and ideas surrounding freedom of the press.

Libya Uncharted Photo Exhibition

The gallery is located at Torstraße 66, and its official opening was at 6:00 p.m. The event started with a welcoming, informative, and inclusive speech by journalist and MENA expert Mr. Mirco Keilberth. It then continued to highlight the photos and the winners who made it to Berlin that day.

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I was fortunate enough to present myself and share the stories behind my photos after receiving encouragement from the founder of Candid Foundation and the editor-in-chief of Zenith magazine, Mr. Daniel Gerlach. Despite having 12 winning photos, only three of them were chosen for display at the gallery, which was open from December 10th to December 20th, 2019. The evening was filled with networking and laughter, transcending any barriers, including skin color. The highlight of the night was enjoying pizza at Papà Pane di Sorrento, one of the best pizzerias in Berlin.

On my final day of the trip, we were taken to the Zenith Magazine office in Berlin for video-recorded interviews. Although there was a city tour planned, my rebellious instinct led me to explore Berlin alone with my camera. I believed that getting lost in Berlin without a tour guide was the best way to experience the city through photography.

Winners Panel Discussion

The evening was scheduled for a panel discussion with the winners, hosted by journalist Ms. Asma Labidi. The discussion aimed to share our experiences with photography and journalism in Libya, as well as elaborate on our ideas and what we have learned from this win and exposure.

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The event concluded with a question-and-answer session from the audience. They asked important and insightful questions that sparked critical thinking. Later, at the open buffet, I bid farewell to all the wonderful people who were involved in this amazing project. It opened my eyes to different aspects of art and journalism, and I hope it won’t be the last opportunity like this.

Berliner Frozen Photons

Berlin Cathedral is the common name for the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin, Germany. It is located on Museum Island in the Mitte borough. Construction of the current building began in 1894 and was completed in 1905.

One of the best-known landmarks of Germany, it was built on the site of a former city gate that marked the start of the road from Berlin to the town of Brandenburg an der Havel, which used to be capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. Is an 18th-century neoclassical monument in Berlin, built on the orders of Prussian king Frederick William II after the temporary restoration of order during the Batavian Revolution.

Under the Brandenburg gate

is a car or chariot drawn by four horses abreast (the Roman Empire’s equivalent of Ancient Greek tethrippon). It was raced in the Ancient Olympic Games and other contests. It is represented in profile as the chariot of gods and heroes on Greek vases and in bas-relief. Quadrigas were emblems of triumph; Victory or Fame often are depicted as the triumphant woman driving it. In classical mythology, the quadriga is the chariot of the gods; Apollo was depicted driving his quadriga across the heavens, delivering daylight and dispersing the night.

At the end of the street shines the statue of Victoria, the personified goddess of victory in the ancient roman religion.

The Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe. According to Eisenman’s project text, the stelae are designed to produce an uneasy, confusing atmosphere, and the whole sculpture aims to represent a supposedly ordered system that has lost touch with human reason.

“The memorial evokes a graveyard for those who were unburied or thrown into unmarked pits, and several uneasily tilting stelae suggest an old, untended, or even desecrated cemetery.”

Fernsehturm Berlin (Television tower in Berlin) was intended to be both a symbol of Communist power and of the city. It remains a landmark today, visible throughout the central and some suburban districts of Berlin.[1] With its height of 368 metres (including antenna) it is the tallest structure in Germany, and the third-tallest structure in the European Union.

Reichstag building is a historic edifice in Berlin, Germany, constructed to house the Imperial Diet (German: Reichstag) of the German Empire.

The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989.

Berlin Cathedral has a long history starting as a Roman Catholic place of worship in the 15th century.

Berlin Cathedral is located on Museum Island in the Mitte borough. The current building was finished in 1905 and is a major work of Historicist architecture of the “Kaiserzeit”.

The Victory Column (German: About this soundSiegessäule (help·info), from Sieg ‘victory’ + Säule ‘column’) is a monument in Berlin, Germany. Designed by Heinrich Strack after 1864 to commemorate the Prussian victory in the Danish-Prussian War.

On the roof of Reichstag building, it was opened in 1894 and housed the Diet until 1933, when it was severely damaged after being set on fire.

On top of the Reichstag building.

The Dom is the parish church of the congregation Gemeinde der Oberpfarr- und Domkirche zu Berlin, a member of the umbrella organisation Evangelical Church of Berlin-Brandenburg-Silesian Upper Lusatia. The term Dom denotes a collegiate church (equivalent to the Italian duomo, or the English “Minster”